Starting with the consumables of the Demonic Sect, one can barely achieve immortality.

At the critical moment between life and death, Yan Cheng only sighed softly.

The two corpse cultivators before me must have had countless experiences of joining forces in attacks.

The timing was so perfect that it was practically flawless.

He felt it would be a bit of a pity to kill these two people so easily.

But considering their experience working together, it's highly likely they accumulated it from countless instances of brutally killing debtors.

Yan Cheng suddenly felt that killing them wasn't anything to regret.

Under the astonished gazes of the two corpse cultivators, he grabbed the noose around his neck with one hand, and bright white purple flames immediately retaliated along the threads!

This time, however, it wasn't the short, weak corpse cultivator's turn to back down.

In that instant, Yan Cheng's figure also flew up on the momentum of the silk threads, smashing the short corpse cultivator's head to pieces with a slap.

In order to extract the Yin Corpse Fiend from the corpse as soon as possible, Yan Cheng used flames in his palm to attack, and the headless corpse cultivator's body was instantly engulfed by the purple flames.

Seeing his fellow disciple die a violent death, the sword-wielding corpse cultivator did not flee as Yan Cheng had expected, but instead raised his sword and thrust it towards Yan Cheng's back.

Yan Cheng was afraid that he would escape. He had not learned any movement techniques, and it was unknown whether he could catch up with him based solely on his physical advantages.

Now that he's not afraid of death, things will be much easier.

He turned around and struck with a palm, his eyes blazing with endless clear light. With a Moon Wheel Seal, he knocked the sword from the sword-wielding corpse cultivator's hand and struck the cultivator squarely in the chest!

The Moon Wheel Seal appears to be merely a basic seal used in seal techniques to aid in the gathering of true energy.

When applied in actual combat, it is equivalent to channeling long-accumulated true energy into a single strike.

This palm strike was devoid of any fancy moves, relying solely on brute force to defeat the enemy. It shattered all twelve ribs of the swordless corpse cultivator's chest, sending him crashing through the door and flying into the corridor!

Even Yan Cheng himself was stunned for a moment because he did not expect that this Moon Wheel Seal would have such powerful force.

Won't this cause too much of a commotion?

He was certain that many corpse cultivators around him had already noticed the unusual activity.

Fortunately, due to Tiantong's strict orders, no one dared to open the door to check.

He immediately prepared to go out and retrieve the corpse of the swordless corpse cultivator.

Just then, he heard footsteps.

Da, da.

Yan Cheng stopped abruptly as he hovered over the threshold.

After a brief internal struggle, he immediately closed the door, preferring to forgo the baleful aura he had gained from the swordless corpse cultivator.

For him, the Yin Corpse Fiend was indeed the currency necessary for survival.

Unlike other corpse cultivators, it does not directly affect one's own cultivation progress.

If it were any other corpse cultivator, even at the risk of violating the prohibition, there would be a high chance they would still go out and reclaim the evil energy.

As it turned out, this decisive action saved his life.

In a very short time, the seemingly light but actually heavy footsteps approached and stopped in front of Yan Cheng's door.

The morgue doors and walls were solid, but thanks to the miraculous power of the silver mirror, Yan Cheng could clearly see that the figure outside the door was looking in this direction.

His body exuded a powerful and surging Yin energy, seemingly capable of overwhelming all his fellow corpse cultivators with sheer force of will.

The puppet silk, which naturally suppresses the yin body, has been burned by the star flames for too long and has been solidified by the cold air in the flames, making it unusable.

If Yan Cheng wants to fight this thing outside the door, close combat will be the only option.

Can the Star Flame Palm Strike, empowered by the Moon Wheel Seal, break through the opponent's physical defense, which is at least comparable to that of a mid-stage cultivator?

Yan Cheng was unaware of this; he simply wiped the cold sweat dripping from his forehead and prepared for battle.

However, the figure outside the door was soon drawn to the body of the swordless corpse cultivator lying across the corridor, and the tall body slowly crawled down.

With a low growl and the sound of flesh tearing, Yan Cheng felt that he had used up enough of the wonders of the [Cave Illumination] technique tonight.

Just moments before he unsealed the Moonlit Seal and dispelled the mystical power, he was certain that he saw a stream of light, white with a hint of darkness, rise from among the corpses and disappear into the shadows at the top of the second floor.

Yan Cheng suddenly turned around and looked at the corpse cultivator's remains, which had been reduced to a skeleton after the cold flames subsided.

I was right.

A corpse cultivator who was close to the initial stage of perfection and had at least thirty portions of Yin Corpse Fiend in his lower dantian had no fiend energy left in his body at this moment!

If the Corpse-Eating Yin Puppet hadn't been outside, Yan Cheng would have cursed loudly.

Damn it, they can just collect the soul of the dead.

What kind of nonsense is it to not even leave a trace of Yin Corpse Fiend for the lower cultivators?

Even a despicable scoundrel like Huang Tong retained the corpse demon from the female cultivator he killed that day!

"These two guys are quite skilled in cultivation. As members of a loan sharking gang, they must have borrowed quite a bit themselves."

"So, it was their powerful backer who intervened?"

Despite the excruciating pain in his brow caused by the depletion of his spiritual energy, Yan Cheng once again used [Cave Illumination] to examine the remains of the short corpse cultivator.

Finally, at the fifth lumbar vertebra of this fellow, a rune about the length of a finger was found, faintly emitting black energy.

【Name: A Talisman for Birds Returning to Their Nests】

Category: Talisman

[Description: A true talisman passed down from the Longevity Hall of the Taiyin Immortal Sect. Holding it allows one to transfer cultivation to another and simultaneously implant runes into their body.]

If the recipient of the talisman dies, the caster will reclaim their cultivation.

After reading the message displayed by the Hidden Immortal Mirror, Yan Cheng felt a chill run straight to his head.

For corpse cultivators who practice the Yin Sha lineage of techniques, cultivation level, spiritual power, and true qi actually refer to the same thing: Yin Corpse Sha.

This makes things seem very strange in many ways.

For corpse cultivators, the Yin Corpse Fiend, though a product of their own hard work, can be divided and seized at will.

Based on this fundamental premise, the entire system of harvesting the evil energy of corpse cultivators by the Hall of Longevity was developed.

Corpse cultivators are never the masters of their own cultivation. Even if they borrow a huge amount of evil energy and achieve a leap in cultivation in a short period of time, it is only a temporary increase in the wealth they are in charge of.

The "Hundred Birds Returning to Their Nests" talisman is precisely a means for creditors to recover everything, including principal and interest.

No wonder the lender was so generous in waiving the interest for mid-stage cultivators.

If Yan Cheng's deduction is correct, as long as the recipient of the talisman has not established a foundation, his cultivation will always be subject to the control of the Hundred Birds Returning to the Nest Talisman and held in the hands of the talisman planter!

Since it's already so easy to take and carry, why bother with this extra step?

"No, this isn't just a flimsy piece of paper; it's runes deeply ingrained in your bones."

Even if the recipient is extremely dull-witted, they would still be able to detect the rune being implanted.

"They probably think that since the person is already dead, it doesn't matter whether their cultivation level is revoked or not, since this talisman doesn't have the effect of instantly killing someone."

But things can't be that simple.

"Once the 'Hundred Birds Returning to Their Nest' talisman is planted on someone, the recipient becomes the talisman planter's reservoir of cultivation power, waiting only for the day it will be harvested!"

"No wonder both Tian Tong and Guan Caishun repeatedly emphasized that the corpse cultivators should not borrow money."

"Given the atmosphere in this godforsaken place, paying off the debt doesn't necessarily mean the talisman will be removed; more likely, you'll be eaten alive for the rest of your life!"